What were they thinking?

Brothers say they only wanted to get the crowd fired up

April 17, 2003|By Chicago Tribune.

The Skutnik brothers said they did it because they love the game and only meant to excite the crowd when they partially disrobed, leapt from the stands and raced across the playing field Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.

But the man who charged the field and jumped an umpire later in the White Sox's 8-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals ruined the fun for everybody, Albert Skutnik, 25, said Wednesday.

As he stood on the front porch of his Southwest Side home, holding the pair of shredded American flag boxer shorts he was wearing when security guards finally tackled him in right field, Skutnik said he had only the best of intentions.

"You go to a game to have a good time. You just want to pump up the crowd," he said.

"I love the game. I just wanted to be close to the baseball players," said Tom Skutnik, 20. "We ran out onto the field; it felt good with everybody rooting us on."

Late Wednesday, the fan who made national headlines for attempting to tackle umpire Laz Diaz was charged with aggravated battery and criminal trespass. Eric J. Dybas, 24, of Bolingbrook is scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday.

Dybas, who friends said is a fun guy who had struggled to keep a job lately, was beaten up by players and security guards after he charged onto the field. A friend said Dybas also attended the Cubs game at Wrigley Field earlier Tuesday.

Another fan, Jeffrey C. Adams, 25, of the 4200 block of South Albany Avenue was charged with trespassing after he, too, ran onto the field before the melee involving the umpire.

Court and police records show three of the fans have misdemeanor convictions for offenses that range from disorderly conduct and marijuana possession to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Wednesday morning, the Skutnik brothers were looking back fondly on the incident. Both acknowledged they had been drinking but said they were not drunk.

"Did you ever get the feeling that you have to take a chance?" Albert Skutnik said. The Skutniks said they would never jump the fence again, but they had no regrets. They didn't hurt anybody, they said, and claimed they were aghast over Dybas' alleged behavior.

"The fourth guy actually screwed everybody up," Albert Skutnik said. "What he did was not right. I don't believe in any type of violence."

The Skutniks were arrested and given misdemeanor tickets for trespassing after they left their 25th-row seats in center field, jumped the outfield fence and dashed onto the field.

The White Sox banned all four from the park, but team spokesman Scott Reifert said such bans are not easy to enforce. The Skutnik brothers were disappointed with the banishment but took it in stride.

"If that's what they have to do, I understand," Albert Skutnik said. "I can always watch it on TV."

"I find it disgusting," Reifert said of the brothers' attitude toward their arrests. "The penalties have to be greater."

White Sox want tough penalties

White Sox general manager Kenny Williams was adamant Wednesday in calling for more punitive measures for spectators who come on the field.

The Sox have begun lobbying state legislators for stiffer penalties for spectator misconduct and are advocating jail time and raising the fine for those actions above the current $100.

Williams said there is little to discourage fans from jumping onto the field, something one of Tuesday's violators said had been high on his life's "to-do list."

"It should be, No. 1, run out on a baseball field; No. 2, get the crap beaten out of me for doing it; and No. 3, go straight to jail. That's what it should be," Williams said. "Until No. 3 comes about, I think you are going to see this happen again, maybe here in Chicago. Unless there is a sure deterrent, you're going to have problems."

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REDEYE ON THE SPOT

Were you embarrassed by the fans rushing onto the field Tuesday night?

"It's a little embarrassing. ... People in the rest of the country may be going, 'What is wrong with those Sox fans?' " --William Li, 24, Wrigleyville

"I'm a Royals fan. I just don't want to see anything taken away from the game just because of a couple of numbskulls." --Aaron Walters, 26, Lakeview

"I was disappointed to see it. It's embarrassing for the guy who did it, not for Chicago." --Brian Sharp, 24, Glen Ellyn

"It was ridiculous. It doesn't represent Sox fans. It was totally uncalled for on half-price Tuesday." --Jamie Zieger, 23, North Side